List of high commissioners of Australia to Fiji

Last updated

High Commissioner of Australia to Fiji
Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Incumbent
John Williams (Acting)
since 1 September 2022
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style His Excellency
Reports to Minister for Foreign Affairs
Residence Tamavua, Suva
Nominator Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holderR. N. Hamilton (Commissioner)
Formation4 March 1964
Website Australian High Commission, Fiji

The high commissioner of Australia to Fiji is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in Fiji. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and is currently vacant, with the head of mission being John Williams as acting high commissioner and chargé d’affaires since 1 September 2022. The high commissioner is also Australia's Permanent Representative to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, which is headquartered in Suva.

Contents

Posting history

On 29 November 1963, the Minister for External Affairs, Sir Garfield Barwick, announced the establishment of an Australian Commission in Suva to represent Australian interests in the Colony of Fiji, with R. N. Hamilton taking up the office of commissioner. [1] With the independence of Fiji on 10 October 1970, the Australian Commission was upgraded to a high commission. [2] [3] On 29 November 1970, Birch was appointed as Australia's first non-resident accredited high commissioner to Tonga, visiting Tonga on 3 December 1970 to present his letters of commission to the King of Tonga. [4] On 13 December 1970, Birch was appointed as the non-resident accredited high commissioner to Western Samoa. [5] The high commissioner would have responsibility for relations with Tonga and Western Samoa until resident high commissions were established in Nukuʻalofa in 1980, and Apia in October 1979.

Prior to the independence of Tuvalu on 1 October 1978, the High Commission was accredited to the country, with the high commissioner (1977–2014) and deputy high commissioner (2014–2018) also serving as the non-resident accredited high commissioner to Tuvalu. A resident high commissioner to Tuvalu was appointed in 2018, and the High Commission was officially opened in 2019. [6] [7] [8]

Following the coups of 1987 by the military and Sitiveni Rabuka, the declaration of Fiji as a republic on 10 October 1987, and the resignation of Sir Penaia Ganilau as Governor-General of Fiji on 15 October 1987, foreign minister Bill Hayden announced that the Australian high commissioner to Fiji, John Piper, would be recalled for "consultations". [9] With Fiji's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations considered to have lapsed, when the next Australian representative to Fiji was appointed in 1988, it was as "Ambassador" rather than high commissioner. [10] When a new constitution was promulgated in July 1997, Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth from 1 October 1997 and the office once again was titled "High Commissioner". [11] In 1991 the Australian Government acquired a 3.7 hectare site in Suva for the construction of a new embassy chancery, ambassador's residence, and facilities/residences for staff. The works were commissioned in 1992–1993, with the chancery designed by Australian Construction Services, and the original circa 1900 Ambassador's residence refurbished to a design by Adrian Sofield Architect. [12]

Following a military coup in December 2006, relations between Australia and Fiji grew increasingly strained. On 3 November 2009, Fijian military leader and interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, declared the Australian and New Zealand high commissioners as Persona non grata , and high commissioner James Batley was recalled. [13] In July 2012, the governments agreed to again exchange high commissioners, ending the three-year gap, with an Australian high commissioner commencing in December 2014 following the first elections in the country held since 2006 in September 2014. [14] [15]

Heads of mission

#OfficeholderTitleOther officesTerm start dateTerm end dateTime in officeNotes
1R. N. HamiltonCommissioner4 March 19645 December 19662 years, 276 days [1] [16] [17]
Douglas Sturkey (Acting)5 December 19664 March 196789 days [18]
2Robert Birch (Acting)4 March 196710 October 19703 years, 315 days [19] [20]
High Commissioner A B 10 October 197013 January 1971 [5] [4] [21]
3 Rowen Osborn A B 13 January 1971February 19732 years [4] [22] [23] [24]
4Harold Bullock A B February 1973August 19763 years, 6 months [25] [26] [27] [28]
5 Gordon Upton A B August 1976December 19793 years, 4 months [29] [30] [31] [32]
6Raymond Greet C February 1980May 19822 years, 3 months [33] [34] [35] [36]
7Colin McDonald C May 1982June 19842 years, 1 month [37] [38] [39] [40]
8 Jeremy Hearder C June 1984June 19862 years [41] [42] [43]
9John Piper C June 198616 October 19871 year, 4 months [44] [45] [46] [47] [9]
Relations suspended following the 1987 Fijian coups d'état
10Bob CottonAmbassador C 30 March 1988August 19913 years, 4 months [48] [10] [49]
11John Trotter C August 1991April 19953 years, 8 months [50]
12 Greg Urwin C April 19951 October 19974 years, 3 months [51]
High Commissioner C D 1 October 1997July 1999 [11]
13Susan Boyd C D July 1999July 20034 years [52]
14Jennifer Rawson C D July 2003January 20073 years, 6 months [53]
15James Batley C D January 20073 November 20092 years, 10 months [54] [55] [56]
Glenn Miles (Acting) C D E 3 November 20092 December 20145 years, 29 days [57]
16 Margaret Twomey E 2 December 2014November 20172 years, 334 days [15] [58] [59]
17John Feakes E November 20171 September 20224 years, 10 months [60] [61]
John Williams (Acting) E 1 September 2022incumbent1 year, 362 days [62]

Notes

^A Also non-resident high commissioner of Australia to Western Samoa, 1970–1979.
^B Also non-resident high commissioner of Australia to Tonga, 1970–1979.
^C Also non-resident high commissioner of Australia to Tuvalu, 1977–2014.
^D Also non-resident high commissioner of Australia to Nauru, 1998–2010.
^E Also permanent representative of Australia to the Pacific Islands Forum, since 2014.

Related Research Articles

From 1916 to 1975, Tuvalu was part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony of the United Kingdom. A referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As a consequence of the referendum, the separate British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu were formed. Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.

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